Hello everyone! My name is Katrina Gumerov and I am a computer science major at UCF currently in my Junior year. I graduated in 2022 from J.R. Arnold High School in Panama City Beach, Florida. So far, my favorite course has been Physics I with Professor Mucciolo. He was very helpful to his students, especially in a challenging course like Physics. He integrated lots of visual aids and real-world problems that helped me connect to the material more. I enjoy any courses that are math-integrated because I have always had an algorithmic way of thinking and formulas just make sense to me.

I decided to get involved with the STEM Ambassador program because STEM has been where I found my place. I was never the genius in a room, but I am a hard worker, and being in STEM-based courses challenged me in a way that made me feel proud of myself, especially in a male-dominated field. I want to help students and women who were just like me when I was in high school, scared and intimidated by college. I want to help make the transition just a little bit easier to the best of my ability and share all of the lessons I have learned so far. My biggest piece of advice to future STEM students is to never feel defeated. STEM classes, especially at UCF, are filled with hundreds of students and some take to the course material very naturally and may make you doubt your ability. However, I promise you everyone struggles in their own way. You can pass and thrive if you put your whole heart into it.

Aside from school, I love to thrift, you can always catch me at a Goodwill or farmers market on the weekends. I also enjoy cooking, I have gotten into meal prepping, which thankfully saves me some time during the week. As much as I hate to admit it, I am also a homebody, so I am a big binge-watcher and have probably watched every reality TV show you can think of. This is how I recharge my mind.